Twists
by Prospero Hibiki
Summary: Who is Saotome Ranma? People think they know, but do they really? Where does he go when they don't see him? What does he do? Who does he talk to? And why does the answer to these questions seem to involve a small restaurant filled with yakuza? R.5/SMXover
1. Chapter 1

Twists

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

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Disclaimer:

This is fanfiction. That being said I am just a guy that is trying to have some fun writing during some of my very limited time off. I mean no disrespect to the characters or to their owners and creators. As it is I'm not making any money off of these characters and any character that you don't recognize from Takahashi Rumiko's Ranma ½ series is mine. And the truly sad thing is I'm not even making money off of them.

o.o

It wasn't an ordinary day. But then again that had been true for so very long that Ranma would have had a hard time saying what an ordinary day really was. He did know though that this one definitely wasn't. If asked, those that considered themselves closest to Ranma would have had a very hard time identifying the one thing that truly made the day unusual. Instead they'd probably mention a few really small signs that indicated it was strange. Sadly not one of those things would be the underlying cause. Because none of the people present in Nerima knew quite as much about the martial artist as they thought they did.

With that said the main reason these others would think that things were unusual was indeed connected to the real reason. Everyone else thought that it was strange that no one could find Ranma at any of his usual haunts. There were also a rather large number of visitors practicing esoteric martial arts in the area so none really thought it that far from the norm. Ranma would undoubtedly show up in a few hours with another few tricks in his arsenal that he would never really use again because they were embarrassing or just that impractical. After all, how often would someone really use things like Martial Arts Computer Programming, Martial Arts Archaeology, or Martial Arts Yachting? So, while people thought it strange he couldn't be found, none were worried or indeed looking all that hard. Nerima was a rather large ward in and of itself and there was no guarantee that he'd not strayed into some other part of Tokyo.

As things stood, Ranma was indeed not inside Nerima. He'd noticed right away the proliferation of marital artists in the area and had actually talked to several of them about their specialties. It was after talking to the first one that he knew what was up. Not only did they happily display their various schools' techniques they also provided copies of their teaching scrolls. It was an almost unprecedented act. Almost. After spending an hour collecting scrolls, because new techniques were still a good investment of time, Ranma slipped into the backdoor of a small sushi bar that was tucked away down a side street and practically invisible from the main road. Just as he'd known it would be there was a person waiting for him who showed him into a private room. Inside already laid out was a rather sumptuous banquet containing all of his favorite dishes. Sitting down on the provided pillow he picked up the set of jade chopsticks and proceeded to eat ignoring the men gathered on the other side of the table.

After nearly ten minutes of silence, during which Ranma continued to eat at a rather slow pace, he finally set down the chopsticks and spoke. "You've all been warned away from contacting me at times not of my choosing." The five men in business suits flinched as one. "I shall assume that because all five of you know this fact that the reason for this meeting is something that you feel is important." One of the men started to speak but Ranma cut him off with a sharp chop of his hand. The man looked like he was about to have a heart attack when the motion was concluded. "At this point in time it is important that you listen and not speak except to answer my direct questions. Do you understand me?"

The men all looked at each other and the man who had attempted to speak earlier nodded. "We understand and shall obey, Ranma-sama."

"Good." Turning his attention back to the food he resumed eating. "Now I wish for you to tell me the reason that you feel you are allowed to bother me in this manner. And be brief and to the point."

The spokesman of the group visibly collected himself before he started to speak. "It has come to our attention that someone of great wealth has placed a rather large bounty on the heads of those known as the Sailor Senshi. As this is something that goes directly against your policy of forced noninterference with certain groups we thought it was prudent to bring it to your attention. Our own people have already begun to investigate this matter and I have their results to date with me."

Ranma was no longer eating and had set down his chopsticks. Instead he had picked up a small cup filled with tea. His feelings would have been impossible to read from his face, but that was not necessary. All anyone required to determine his thoughts on the matter would have needed was to see the cup shatter in his hands and a perfectly shaped block of frozen tea hit the table. His voice when he spoke was filled with the bitter biting cold of an Arctic winter night. "Who?"

"We do not yet know. They have gone to great lengths to conceal their identity. The bounty was announced via a webpage whose address was mass e-mailed to the addresses of every known criminal organization as well as a list of the foremost assassins in the world. Whoever chose to do so was quite thorough and even sent several copies to several people that are currently dead. The webpage listed the terms of the bounty and directed any queries to an escrow company located inside a small country in the Caribbean. They have indeed confirmed the bounty amount has been placed inside an account there."

Ranma shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How much was this bounty?"

"Ten million pounds for each of the senshi with an additional five million each for Tuxedo Kamen and Chibi-Moon. All told one hundred million pounds."

Quirking an eyebrow Ranma asked the question that immediately came to mind. "Why pounds? I'd think that yen would be a better choice."

"The British pound is the money of choice for the escrow company in question."

"I take it that my wishes in this matter have been explained to those organizations that we have contact with." Seeing their nods he continued. "And the response?"

"Ranma-sama, as you know the other oyabuns have never liked your ultimatum that certain people are to remain untouched or even avoided. They only agreed because of your threat to hunt down every member of their organizations, bring their buildings crashing to the ground, and sow the ground with salt. Were this a lesser amount they would perhaps obey our direction. As it stands in this they see an opportunity to look the other way while some member of their organization 'acts independently' and collects this bounty."

"I see." With a deep breath he asked the question he'd been afraid to ask since first hearing of the situation. "What of our own organization? Where do they stand?"

"They stand with you, Ranma-sama. We have devoted all of our information gathering abilities to determining the source of the bounty and have suspended all normal operations in Juuban. We have so informed the police force in the Minato ward as well as apprising them of the threat. The local police commissioner was doubtful of our intentions but was personally visited by our highest ranking man in the area and assured of our truthfulness. As such we now have at least one man stationed at every police koban at all times to better help us detect attempts to collect."

Ranma could only stare in shock. "What? I can't believe it. It's even more than I would have ordered. Who ordered these actions taken? And why?"

"Our man in Juuban ordered these actions taken within minutes of being informed of the bounty. As for the reason, he claims that he owes the senshi for saving the life of his daughter when she was caught in a monster attack. We've since investigated this claim and have determined that he is telling the truth. Apparently his daughter was trapped under some rubble when a monster smashed through the local mall. The senshi lured the monster away and destroyed it before going back and clearing away the debris. His daughter emerged and credited the senshi with pulling her out."

There was a long pause while Ranma thought over the information he'd so far received. "Is it your belief that the man can be trusted?" It was a much more complex question than one might actually think. As with any organization there were varied levels of trust. But in criminal organizations it was almost a given that the answer was no. Everyone kept things to themselves. Everyone skimmed a little off the top. It was expected, even accepted as part of doing business.

"Without a single doubt." The answer was so prompt that Ranma had to arch an eyebrow. "Our man loves his daughter more than anything on this planet. He would literally do anything for her. Someone once took a picture of her and tried to use threats against her as a means of leverage over him. Five days later pieces of the photographer were delivered in shoeboxes to each of the lieutenants of his blackmailer. They never found the blackmailer. So, when we say that this man can be trusted to look out for the best interests of the girls who saved his daughter's life we are sure."

There would have been a time in the past when hearing of someone's grizzly murder would have shocked him, even disgusted him. Those days were long past. He had had to accept, that when dealing with these people, that the rules were different. And to some extent he understood. If someone had attacked someone he loved he would have felt the same way. In fact that was what had instigated this whole situation in the first place.

The old bitter pain rose in his mind and he desperately pushed it down again with the Soul of Ice technique. He couldn't afford to show weakness before these men. They were scared of him now, but that might someday change. When that time came he couldn't afford to have given them any more information to be used against him.

Turning back to them he spoke. "I see no reason at this time to change the things we are reacting to this situation. Should our people discover information about those responsible for this...bounty," Ranma practically spit out the word, "I wish to be informed by having that information placed in my usual dead drop." I faced the man who had been the spokesman so far. "I am quite pleased that you have all risked my wrath to bring this matter to my attention. Should you become aware of a situation that one of the senshi is in danger and I am unable to be informed of it in time, I expect the utmost effort by those under my command in protecting her. This is my command." There was a brief pause. "I shall go to Juuban myself as soon as I can. I should be able to do the most good there in person."

"Yes, oyabun. We shall have a place set aside for you there."

Ranma nodded and stood up. The meeting was over and staying much longer would put things at risk. There were just too many ways for this to explode in his face. Some of which were too literal for his comfort. As he was about to step through the door though he had a thought.

"What is the name of our man in Juuban? I'd like to be able to meet him on my own without his preparing for such."

"His name is Mizuno, Ranma-sama."


	2. Chapter 2

Twists

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

Don't forget to visit my webpage! It's nice to hear from people.

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine but the plot is. Read the disclaimer in part one for more info.

o.o

It'd happened. The first serious attempt was made less than three hours before. Ranma supposed that they should actually have been thankful that it took so long to occur. Ideally this should have given them enough time to figure out who was behind this entire farce and remove them from the equation. Except this time it hadn't. In fact what was worse was that he'd been unable to leave Nerima for one reason or another and had in fact only heard of the attack on the evening news.

Some monster or another was attacking a park in Juuban with the predictable result of drawing the senshi out to battle it. That should have been their first clue that something would happen. It _was_ predictable. There had been enough time between the start of the monster attack and the conclusion for a damned news team to show up at the battle. It should have been completely obvious who else could show up.

The sniper had set up on the roof of a nearby apartment building. He hadn't been alone, in fact several members of the legitimate press had actually been on the same roof if in different places. He'd taken one shot and then left using the rifle to club one of the reporters who got in his way. It was actually somewhat sloppy. If he'd stuck around he would have realized he'd failed. Instead he just pulled the trigger and left.

It was actually Tuxedo Kamen who saved the day. He'd just happened to be facing the correct direction when the shot was fired. By the time anyone actually heard anything it was already too late. Whatever mystical enhancements were included in the whole Tuxedo Kamen power up they obviously included some form of ocular enhancement that the public hadn't known about before then. The man had actually managed to deflect the bullet using a thrown rose. A rose! If he hadn't been so angry about the attack he would have been amazed that Kuno might actually know a somewhat useful skill.

As if the actual attack on the senshi wasn't bad enough, it'd been broadcast on national television. Which meant that there was no way to conceal the things that the senshi had revealed inadvertently about their automatic reactions in emergencies. And it was bad. When an event like the one that happened in the park occurs, people will react to protect the things that they consider most precious and valuable. A mother will run for her children, a thief for his money. A husband will try to protect his wife, and a bodyguard will run for their principle. These things happen without thought. They're almost, no they probably are, instincts.

The things that Ranma had figured out from the film footage were practically a death sentence for them. In the minute it took for the senshi to figure out what was going on they had revealed too much about their relationships and thought patterns to remain safe. And it was a virtual certainty that anyone even considering taking the job would be reviewing every single frame of footage for the one thing that would prove to be the fatal flaw in the senshi's habits. They were there. Ranma had spotted them himself. And he knew that some of the people who would be watching the footage were even better at spotting the flaws than he was.

The bullet had been deflected, but it had still hit a tree not five feet away from Sailor Venus which probably meant the bullet had indeed been meant for her. She reacted quite well to the situation when she dove behind a rock outcropping that was nearby and protected from the location the shot was fired from. Sadly though that action revealed that she still had some of the loner mindset from her days as Sailor V. She reacted first to protect herself, which was good, but did so in a way that separated her from the group.

Sailor Mercury was supposedly the thinker of the group and she reacted in a way that was even more dangerous. She didn't actively react to protect herself at all. Instead she took the opportunity to scan for the enemy. This either showed a supreme confidence in her own and her allies' abilities or an ingrained habit from fighting the monsters that were their more common enemy. Against a group of trained assassins she was a target waiting to be taken.

Mars had reacted in ways that weren't so much dangerous as they were revealing. She was a young girl in a spiritualist field of some sort. She too had dove behind cover but had instead chosen a cement park bench. Her flaw was that she had immediately reached for an ofuda. It wasn't a bad reaction on the surface but it showed that she was more comfortable dealing with the spiritual than the physical. It also indicated that she received her training in it prior to becoming a senshi. She was probably a miko at one of the Shinto shrines in the Minato area. Ranma only hoped that this was one area that people would overlook. There were probably few enough shrines in the area that she could be easily found if one thought to look for her among them.

The reactions of Sailor Saturn were...odd. She flinched. Really and truly flinched at the possibility of being shot, and yet she continued to stand her ground with her giant pole arm at the ready. He couldn't really recall fully but he seemed to remember that she had some form of shield that she could call up. Who knows, maybe she had given the least away with her actions.

Jupiter was a physical fighter. It showed in that her first move was to do a quick scan of the area and then assume a neutral stance that would allow her to react in any direction a threat could come from. Not a bad idea except that it highlighted that she was used to fighting things up close and personal as well as within her range of sight. She probably could be trained out of those bad habits easier than the others could.

He'd thought the rumors of the relationship between Sailors Uranus and Neptune were just that, but with Uranus's instinctive grab onto the other girl to protect her with her body he wasn't so sure anymore. It was a potential weakness that could be used against them. But it was something that could also backfire against anyone who tried to use it as such.

Sailor Moon was scared and it showed. But at the same time there was a core of unbending steel in her body language. She would react as appropriate. Whether it worked or not was something else entirely, but she had the look of someone who would do what she needed to do. It might scare her or even hurt her, but she would do it. They said she was the leader of the senshi. They were right. Which also put the added burden of being the most important link in the chain on her shoulders. She would almost assuredly be one of the first targets.

There was only one left and it was her reactions that had him most disturbed. Sailor Pluto was a mysterious figure whose powers and motivations were endlessly being debated upon by senshi otaku. Ranma didn't see it. He saw instantly what motivated her. She was a protector. She was willing to give her life to protect Sailor Moon. Not in the same way that Uranus protected her lover by wrapping her body around her. No, Sailor Pluto instead seemed to almost teleport in front of Sailor Moon and position herself as a human shield all the while looking directly at the building where the shot had come from. Her expression was telling. She wasn't scared. She wasn't angry. She was resigned, willing to die for the girl she was standing in front of without a second thought. More than that, she had reacted as soon as Tuxedo Kamen had started to move. Without knowing why or what she was protecting the girl from, she'd placed herself in a position to protect her by sacrificing herself at the merest hint of danger. Had Moon really been the target, Sailor Pluto would have died. Ranma knew in that moment of realization that she would do so again and again and again.

Ranma looked up from his seat at the desk men from the organization had set up for him in the closest office they had to Nerima. The room's walls were covered in all the information that they had managed to collect to date on not only the bounty that had been issued but also everything that had been compiled on the senshi themselves. And when his people said everything they damned well meant it. There were lists of enemies categorized by power level, origin, date, weaknesses, and any other combination of items that could possibly connect one monster to another. He saw charts detailing the evolving nature of the senshis' uniforms as well as a comparison between uniform changes and new magical attacks. There were television screens and computer monitors showing continuous footage of not only the attack that day but also of any and every fight that the senshi had been involved in that had been captured on film.

He had all this information at his fingertips and none of it could tell him what he really needed to know. Namely who was behind the contract that had been taken out on the senshi. No doubt the information was in the room somewhere in some folder or on some list of names. But that didn't help him any. He needed that name. It was the only chance those girls had of surviving to reach their next birthday. As he'd just figured out from analyzing the footage he couldn't protect them all the time. Certainly he and the organization could try, but they would fail. The payoff was too high. Too many people would be coming after them, and someone would get lucky. And it only had to happen once. He had to win every single time. What was worse was that he couldn't even count on the person wanting to escape with his life. For the amount of money being offered there would be more than one truly desperate man willing to sacrifice himself to earn that money for his family. Bodyguards were only truly effective against people who wanted to live. If someone was willing to give their life for their goal there were very few ways to stop him unless you spotted him before the attempt.

Leaning back in the comfortable executive chair he'd been sitting in for over an hour Ranma stared at the ceiling in thoughtand brought a cigarette up to his lips. A quick burst of ki turned the end into a fiercely glowing ember and he inhaled deeply the nicotine in the tobacco soothing him slightly. He'd started smoking when he'd been forced into taking over as oyabun, and it was something that was more than a little dangerous for him because nothing else was more likely to get him caught than the smell to tobacco smoke on his clothes. As he blew a perfect smoke ring into the air he sighed. There was no putting it off any longer. He had to go to Juuban himself. It was the only way that he might be able to be of some use. The only problem was that he had no idea how he would be able to get out of Nerima for long enough without being followed by every nutjob chasing after him. As it was he'd probably already been gone long enough for people to start looking for him. That was really something he didn't need.

"Ranma-sama, we've been unable to find anything that fit any of the patterns you told us to look for." He looked up at the man who had entered the room without him really realizing it. "We shall of course continue looking but our preliminary examination of the data says that it is unlikely." The man bowed low and left the room after Ranma dismissed him. He hadn't expected anything else anyway. The possibility that a grieving relative of a victim that the senshi hadn't been able to save setting up a contract on their lives always had been a long shot but still one he'd felt obligated to check.

"Damn it!" Swiping his arm across the desk he sent papers flying in every direction. He didn't notice the greater resistance from an ashtray that someone had brought out for him. The solid glass mass ripped through the air and embedded itself into one of the walls. It was only peripherally noticed as something that would have to be fixed before they sold the office space. One of the men who'd been working in the small room outside the door came rushing in at the sound.

"Nakamura, start transferring all of our research over to an office in Juuban. If we can find one close to the place I'll be staying in, that would be best. Oh, and by the time I get there I expect to have a list of all the Shinto shrines in the Minato ward. Do not tell anyone else of this last instruction. I want for you to make the list yourself without asking anyone for help. Leave no notes, hand the only copy to me personally, and then forget that you ever did this." He leveled a stern glare at the man. "Do you understand? No traces."

"I understand Ranma-sama." He paused as he was about to leave. "When do you wish for me to deliver it to you?"

Ranma sighed once more. "Bring it to me tomorrow evening. By then I should be at whatever office space has been set aside for me to work in." With that he dismissed Nakamura and leaned back in the chair once more. "Damn it. This isn't going to end well. I can feel it."


	3. Chapter 3

Twists

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

Visit my webpage and say Hi! Link in profile.

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine but the plot is. Read the disclaimer in part one for more info.

o.o

Ranma wearily dropped his pack in the doorway of the apartment he'd been told was being rented out for his exclusive use while he was in Juuban. It'd still taken longer than he'd wanted to make a clean escape from the dojo. In fact he'd left over eight hours before and had spent almost that entire time repeatedly changing trains and buses in the hope of losing any pursuit. He thought he'd been successful, but then he couldn't be sure about that. Frankly though that was really the last thought that should have been on his mind. The fact that it wasn't probably had more to do with being unable to do anything about the real reason he was in Juuban in the first place.

There was so much that needed to be done, but he had no idea where to start. If Nakamura had been here he would have been able to get started on the search for Sailor Mars, but Nakamura wasn't here yet which mean the only really viable lead he had wasn't available for investigation. He'd been having second thoughts about that avenue of investigation anyway. If he were being followed by someone from Nerima or even if he weren't it was too much of a risk to chance leading someone to whichever shrine or shop the Senshi of Mars worked at. Even worse would be the chance of leading someone to the thought process behind that investigation. Ranma knew he was arrogant but he was also aware that some of his arrogance was actually justified. He really was that good in some respects. None of that eliminated the thing that would probably be the biggest obstacle in this whole affair. Some people were better.

It was rare that Ranma had to really think about the fact that he wasn't the best there was in something. He always knew that if he was weak in one area he could always improve in that respect and possibly overcome any weakness with strength in another area. This was after all one of the tenets of the Anything Goes Style. Adaptability had become so ingrained in him over the years that it was his first reaction in a situation. Well first reaction after he tried his usual rushing into things without thinking.

Looking out one of the apartment's windows Ranma lit up a cigarette and stared out at Juuban. He was about ten or so stories up and so had a good view of the surroundings, but the sight only dismayed him. It was so big. Not just the ward, but the whole city. There were too many places for the senshi to be and even more that could now be housing the hit squads that were undoubtedly forming in reaction to yesterday's attack. And they were forming. He'd been informed of the organization's takedown of at least one such group not three miles from his current apartment building. They'd been amateurs, which was what had allowed Mizuno-san's men to spot them as they had, but their presence only confirmed what Ranma himself had feared.

People wanted the money. More than that they wanted to be the ones to collect which meant they had to get to the targets before anyone else did. Anyone who didn't know that others had gotten the same offer that they had knew now. With that knowledge came increased urgency. Ranma could practically see the endless lines of assassins coming. What was worse was that there was no way he could stop it because they had failed to discover the person who had opened the contract. No, _he_ had failed.

Walking over to the kitchen countertop he looked around for an ashtray. Not finding one he shrugged and simply flash fried the stub of the cigarette with his ki without leaving any ash behind to mar the carpets. He pulled out another one but simply stuck it in his mouth without lighting it. Slowly wandering back to the window he looked out once more. From this spot he could actually see the rooftop from which the shot had been fired. Shrugging his shoulders he nodded absently to himself. It wouldn't be a bad place to start while he waited for Nakamura to arrive with the data. Just because he probably wouldn't be visiting the places on the lists didn't mean that he shouldn't know how many there were and their locations. Turning he walked to the door briefly running through the mental map he'd made in his head for the surrounding buildings.

Once he'd made it to the ground floor it only took a few minutes to make it to the building in question. It did take longer for the building manager to give him the keys for rooftop access but the man that had been assigned to be his gopher was able to explain things in the proper way. With keys in hand he'd practically run up the steps to the rooftop. But there is where he had his first real surprise of the evening. It seemed that he wasn't the only person to have had the idea of investigating the site.

His first reaction was to cloak himself in the Umisenken techniques that his father had developed and observe the actions of the shadow that was examining the area. He didn't exactly know why he did that as opposed to simply going and confronting the person that was doing the snooping about. The best he could figure it was just an instinctive reaction on his part that had him doing so. Well instinct and the desire to actually be the person who knew something for a change.

It was a woman in a suit. Not a very remarkable first impression but one that did come with slightly more detail that could be conveyed in words. For example it was a very well fitting suit. Clearly not something that someone could just pick up off of a rack. So it gave Ranma a place to start from in regards to her background. It probably eliminated police officer from the equation as well. They just didn't make enough to wear something like that. Well the lower level local officers didn't. It was the higher levels of the national agencies that would actually be able to wear something like that so casually and then ruin it as she was doing by kneeling in the dirt of the rooftop. The problem with that idea was that no one at that level of the government would be alone as she did so. Still the possibility did exist but it was a very small one. Reporter was out for similar reasons. No, whoever this lady was she was out of place in several ways. That should have immediately sent up red flags in his mind that pointed towards assassin, but for some reason she just didn't strike him as such. For some reason he was leaning towards a private investigator that was searching for clues to lead her towards the person who placed the bounties.

That decided he took in actual details about the woman's appearance. She was probably about his height of five feet eight inches. It was somewhat tall for a Japanese woman but not completely unheard of in the current day. She was also fairly well tanned showing that she probably either sunbathed or, more likely, visited a tanning salon regularly. Her hair was done up in a somewhat severe style that still showed she cared enough to have quite a bit of length to it. The color was somewhat odd too. It was a deep green and done up in a way that left a small bun on the back of her head before the remainder dropped down to her knees. Idly Ranma wondered just how she kept it from dragging across the ground when she had crouched down.

Having decided that he'd seen enough he released the Umisenken a few feet behind her while she was closely examining one of the walls. "So what exactly do you think you're doing up here? This place is a crime scene." Her expression was interesting as she whirled around to look at him and it looked as if her instinctive reactions included something somewhat odd. It wasn't anything really seen, more something he understood on a deeper level. It was a subtle tensing of the muscles in her shoulders and arms that was aborted before it even finished. He'd seen similar things before though and it took him a while to figure out where. Bojutsu. If he'd seen more he probably would have been able to narrow it down to a specific style of staff fighting. Hmm, so she was at a minimum slightly familiar with at least one form of martial art. Probably more since bojutsu was more of supplementary art than one that was started as a focus.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Ranma smirked at her. "Really, I think that you should answer those questions yourself before you try to get them from other people. So what exactly do you think you were trying to do up here? This place is a crime scene and you're disturbing evidence. Not to mention that you were completely exposed to anyone who decided to snipe at any woman that decided to investigate. They wouldn't care that you're not one of the senshi; they'd just shoot you in the hopes of earning even a part of the bounty. Bullets are cheap after all and they can waste them on..." Something seemed off with what he'd just said, but Ranma couldn't figure it out. Or rather he hadn't figured it out yet.

"What bounty?" The words froze him in the middle of his thoughts. He'd screwed up in assuming that this woman was a private investigator. Ranma had acknowledged that it was a possibility but he had somehow stopped thinking about it and taken it as a fact. Any real investigator would have already known the answer to that question without needing to ask. More to the point her tanned face was deathly pale so she clearly wasn't trying to trap him into admitting something by playing dumb. There were only a few sets of people who might possibly be up there and not know about the bounty and still be investigating. A senshi fangirl was one option, but he couldn't see it. No, the only other possible option was also one that Ranma had dismissed immediately without even thinking about it. Ranma still didn't know what to believe but he was beginning to get the idea that wasn't entirely his fault. He only hoped that it was his previous exposures to magic that were letting him figure things out, because otherwise they were all screwed.

Ignoring her question for a moment he reached for his phone. Hating the thing didn't change the fact that it occasionally proved useful. Still he normally kept it in stuffspace to prevent it from being damaged in one of the daily brawls in Nerima. Since leaving though he'd kept it in the small holster on his belt that his people had provided for him. "It's me. Lock down the area around my location. No one is to get within one hundred feet of me and the person I'm with. Stage the counter-sniper teams on the roof tops surrounding me and tell them to take out anyone they see with a gun that isn't us with extreme prejudice." Ranma snapped the phone shut knowing his instructions would be carried out.

Mizuno's choices for the counter-sniper teams were practically perfect. He'd exhaustively researched every single man the government had with the qualifications. He'd selected twenty men from them. And he'd violated pretty much every accepted method of selection in doing so. He'd found ten men who had owed extremely large amounts of money to various people. The reasons had varied, but his response was the same. He'd bought the debts and then told the men that they were completely clear of them. All they had to do was do their job to the best of their ability, that if their principles lived they were essentially debt free. Seven of the others had had family members personally saved by the senshi at various times over the years. The remaining three had children who were extremely ill. The children were even now being seen by the best specialists in whatever fields were needed to save them even if those specialists were in other countries. No expense was being spared and needless to say their counter-snipers were all extremely motivated individuals with vested interests in making sure the job got done. Still there Ranma hadn't taken any chances and had put into place a small insurance policy of his own in that regard that even Mizuno didn't know about.

"Miss, I don't know which one you are but you have to listen to me. The attack on you and your friends yesterday was because someone recently put a ten million pound bounty on each of your heads and a five million pound bounty on both Tuxedo Kamen and Chibi-Moon. Our investigations as well as those of the police and defense forces of Japan haven't been able to discover who or why. However, we have discovered and stopped at least one other group of assassins who came to collect."

"That's not possible. I would have known." She sounded completely shocked as if her entire world belief system were tumbling down around her with that one statement.

"Well I don't exactly know why you think it's impossible, but I can tell you that the facts remain unchanged. Now you have a couple of choices. Option one is that you can go warn your fellow senshi about the danger and then continue on your own while we try our best to keep you protected separately as we have already been doing. This allows you to remain separate from you so as to protect your identities from us but there is no guarantee that you will be able to remain safe. Option two is that you can allow us to help you in some way. What way that is depends on you, but I do have resources and abilities that you don't know about. This method does have the greatest chance for success of all of them. Option three is that you all continue on as you have been ignoring the danger completely and leave the protection completely on us. In which case you will die. We already know we can't stop them all. There are too many people who know about the bounties and are desperate to be the ones to achieve the goal." He didn't want to be that blunt about it but nothing he'd said was untrue.

"I've...I've got to go." From out of nowhere a long staff in the shape of a stylized key appeared in her hand and her clothes morphed into a black trimmed senshi fuku. Even as her clothes stabilized she passed through a portal that flashed into place only long enough for her to pass through. Then she was gone.

Ranma stood on the roof of the building that had focused so much of his thoughts the past two days. He tried not to think that the one senshi he'd encountered was the one he actually least wanted to find out. Ranma hadn't realized which one she was which seemed kind of stupid of him looking back on it because they looked so much alike. He attributed it to the magic of whatever they used for their transformation. Still he couldn't think of a worse way for the senshi to have found out. Pluto's total disregard for her own safety in order to protect Sailor Moon was frightening. After all it was his goal to protect all of them. He wouldn't fail again.

Putting his cell phone back to his ear he hit one of the speed dials. "We need to talk. I think we've got a serious problem. Meet me at my apartment."


	4. Chapter 4a

Twists 04a

A Ranma ½ Fanfiction

By Prospero Hibiki

The Grandmaster Mongoose

God of Misdirection, Caffeine, and Those Socks You Lost Last Tuesday

Visit my webpage and say Hi! Link in profile.

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine but the plot is. Read the disclaimer in part one for more info.

This is only a partial chapter to tell people that YES I am still alive and occasionally writing. More to come soon.

o.o

Despite what he'd decided to not do the previous day, Ranma found himself outside his fourth Shinto shrine that day. Nakamura had gone above and beyond his expectations. The list he'd provided had actually contained quite a few shrines that weren't in the ward but had actually bordered it quite closely. Some had actually been closer to the center of the ward than this shrine was. So when making his way through the list he'd hit several of those first in the hopes of finding something. Sadly though nothing had come from it and most of the day had been wasted in trying to make sure that no one could follow him around town exposing a possible route in discovering the Sailor Mars' identity.

He was almost beginning to think that this whole idea was doomed to failure. His encounter with Sailor Pluto the day prior had given him a very good indication that even if the people were right in front of him he might not realize it. There had been so many factors in him figuring out that she had been one of the senshi and the lack of any one of them might hide their identity. It was his hope at any rate. The only one he really had until he figured a way to warn the rest of them himself. Pluto might warn her fellows but everything he'd seen when the first assassination attempt occurred pointed towards... Hell, Ranma didn't have any idea what it pointed towards. Sailor Pluto was the ultimate wild card. She was mysterious as hell and all that the people he'd assigned to dig up information on the senshi had been able to find out for sure was that she had to be powerful as all hell but seemed unable or unwilling to use it. Which completely went against what he himself had seen previously. Just thinking about it was guaranteed to give him a headache.

Twitching his wrist he popped a pack of cigarettes out of his personal stuffspace. He leaned against outer wall of the shrine and flicked the bottom of the pack with his thumb sending one of the Sakura longs into the air and into his mouth. There wasn't any other movement on his part except putting the pack back where he'd gotten it from, the cigarette seeming to light itself. It was probably a little disrespectful to be smoking there, but with the day he'd already had it was all he could do to keep from screaming in frustration. Most of the people at the shrines weren't all that willing to talk to him because of how he was dressed. As part of his camouflage he was wearing very cheap black suit and the standard pair of sunglasses that seemed to be part of the public's image of a yakuza thug. Still he'd at least not gotten hassled for smoking by the cops in the various kobans throughout the neighborhoods. None of the yakuza in any of the kobans he'd passed had given any indication that they'd recognized him as anything other than a low level errand runner like themselves. At least Mizuno's compromise was still holding.

"Just what do you think you're doing smoking here?" Of course that didn't stop him from getting yelled at by the various shrine maidens at the shrines he'd been visiting. It looked like this one wasn't going to be any different than the others in that respect at least.

"Did you hear me? Get a move on." The black haired shrine maiden was carrying a broom and shaking it threateningly at him. Looking at her he could tell she was fairly average for a shrine maiden except for maybe a higher level of chi ability than most. She was probably one of the more traditional maidens then.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm moving along." Ranma stood from his position against the wall and stretched his body out. The cigarette was mostly out anyway. Which reminded him that he needed to have someone in Kagoshima send a few more cartons his way. He was almost out and it looked like he'd be going though the ones he still had at a much faster rate than normal. Maybe he could have someone pick up some pewter ware for his mother. She'd probably like it. He flicked his cigarette butt away ignoring the girl's protest because it'd vaporized practically the second it'd left his hand.

He pulled out his phone. "Get me Mizuno. I don't care what he's doing right now. I need to know what the hell he's found out while I've been chasing my fucking tail out here!" Ranma knew he was letting his frustration at the situation poor onto the guy who'd made the mistake of answering the phone, but he really didn't care anymore. He was sick and tired of trying to play by the rules. He'd told the yakuza of Japan what would happen if certain people were harmed. They'd only obeyed after the old oyabun in charge of his group had decided to hang himself. From the latticework above the Tokyo Tower's upper observation area. Of course it'd taken them a full day to figure out how to get him down.

A voice coming over the phone got his attention. "Mizuno, send a car to pick me up at the koban closest to the," he looked down at his sheet of paper, "Hikawa Shrine. I need a better suit too. Make sure that whoever is in the car knows everything we know about what's going on with respect to our investigation into who put the bounties on the senshi." Ranma paused. "On second thought, I need some work clothes. A grey turtleneck and black jeans with some designer sunglasses. I also want all the information about anyone who's in town that might want to collect on the bounties. It's time I start reinforcing the object lesson I started after..." Ranma's mind flashed to the night that ended up changing his life.

It was really all so stupid. Yumika hadn't even been targeting the yakuza. In fact she'd only roughed up two punks who'd gone beyond what they were allowed to do by trying to increase their protection fees without the oyabun's permission or knowledge. That's not what they'd told him though. So when next Yumika had been in the area and defeated the latest monster to grace the neighborhood, a well dressed businessman had bowed to her in thanks and then shoved his knife into her stomach. She'd fled but was still somewhat disoriented from a blow to the head she'd taken earlier. And so it was that she had ended up in the alley behind the cafe she was supposed to meet her boyfriend at a few hours later. He found her there lying in the slowly growing pool of blood just in time to cradle her in his arms as she closed her eyes for the last time, with his name and words of love on her lips as she died.

All of the people who knew were quite frankly terrified of Ranma about then. He'd told those in Nerima that he was going on a long training trip. He'd expected a fight. He'd wanted a fight. Wanted it so badly that nothing else would satisfy the hunger he had to drive his fists into the flesh of opponents trying to kill him. But he'd not gotten what he'd wanted in Nerima. An unlikely person had stepped in between him and those who'd intended to stop him or follow him. Happosai had drawn himself up to his full height and flat out told everyone that they'd have to go through him first before they approached Ranma. He didn't say a word beyond that but the look he gave all of those assembled chilled the very blood in their veins. It was rare, but it was looks like those that reminded people that Happosai was the Grandmaster of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts in deed as well as in name. As Ranma left that day he'd felt a piece of paper being slipped into his pocket. When he checked it hours later in the heart of Tokyo it had only the name of a bar written on it next to the lineage path of one Ono Yumika. A lineage that included a surprising name about seven generations previous in the form of Happo Sai.


End file.
